Per its location on the blast door map, the Staff appeared to be located somewhere on the western portion of the Island. From the survivor's camp, it took about a half a day or so to get there and back. No orientation film for the Staff was found, and unlike the Swan and the Arrow stations, there was no "quarantine" warning on the station's doors.

Contents

History

DHARMA Initiative

The Staff was built at some point prior 1973. Clearly a medical station of some form, it is not entirely clear what its original purpose was within the DHARMA Initiative. It should be noted that the Staff was located well away from other DHARMA facilities - and clearly it was not used for day-to-day medical issues of DHARMA personnel as the Barracks had its own infirmary. DHARMA personnel from the Staff were seen performing vaccinations upon Ben's arrival on the Island in 1973. Claire later observed a number of similar vaccine vials stamped with the station logo when she was abducted by the Others. Additionally medical kits stenciled with the Staff logo were found at other stations across the Island. ("Maternity Leave") ("Enter 77") ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

The Staff was clearly marked on the blast door map along with several annotations. One described that the station was abandoned in 1985 after a "AH/MDG incident" or possibly because of a failure of the Cerberus system. Another nearby notation read: "But could be #6" -- although it is unclear if this note referred to the Staff. ("Lockdown").

The Others

The Others were aware of and used the Staff for a significant period of time after the Purge -- specifically for continuing research as to why pregnant women were dying on the Island. Juliet was one of their researchers and clearly had visited the Staff on numerous occasions. The Others appeared to have also been using the station as a staging area where they would don their disguises - designed to hide their sophisticated lifestyle from the survivors. ("Maternity Leave") ("D.O.C.")

After her abduction, Claire was taken by Ethan to the Staff where she was kept drugged, was given injections, and underwent at least one surgical procedure: the insertion of an unknown implant which could be controlled remotely. Ostensibly abducted as a research control, it appeared from Claire's perspective that the Others were working towards taking her unborn child from her at the facility. After her escape, the Others moved most of the medical equipment into a hidden vault and abandoned the facility, possibly fearing she might return with the other survivors. ("Maternity Leave")

The Survivors

The Staff was later revisited by Claire, along with Kate and Rousseau, as they searched for answers about Claire's abduction, the vaccine, and Rousseau's missing child, Alex. ("Maternity Leave")

At a later point, Juliet took Sun to the station to give her an ultrasound and revealed the existence of the hidden vault. ("D.O.C.")

The Station

The Escape Hatch seen in the corridor

The Staff complex was located underground and appears to consist of a number of rooms branching off from a central corridor.

The doors to the Staff

Main entrance

Two large doors were set at an angle into a hillside akin to a cellar door form the main entrance to the station. The doors prominently displayed the the Staff logo. When revisited by Claire, the Others had concealed the entrance with a plastic tarp which was further covered with leaves and branches. Beyond the doors, a short flight of stairs led down to a ramp descending to the central corridor. Adjacent to the stairs was a small locker which contained working flashlights. ("Maternity Leave")

The Staff also appeared to be equipped with some form of loudspeaker system capable of broadcasting an alarm which could be heard quite some distance away from the station. ("Maternity Leave")

The Staff corridor during Claire's first visit

Corridor

A total of at least seven doors were visible in the Staff's corridor: a pair of double doors at the far end leading to an operating theater / examination room, two doors leading into the nursery, a door leading to the locker room, a pair of doors facing each other leading to unknown rooms, and another smaller doorway stenciled "Escape Hatch." The corridor's ceiling apparently sustained some severe damage at some time after the station's abandonment by the DHARMA Initiative.

Kate used what appeared to be a circuit breaker to restore power when searching the Staff with Claire. ("Maternity Leave")

Operating theater

One of the major rooms in the Staff was used as an operating theater.

Claire and Ethan in the operating theater

Before Flight 815 crashed, the Others, including Juliet, Ethan, and Goodwin, performed surgery in this room on a pregnant woman named Sabine. It was implied that a number of other similar surgeries had taken place here. ("One of Us")

During her captivity, Claire was given prenatal care in this same room by Ethan. She was also injected with an unknown substance labeled CR 481516-23 42 purportedly as a vaccination for her and the baby. Later, the Others appeared to be preparing the room for surgery - what Claire believed was the induced childbirth of Aaron. ("Maternity Leave")

Among the equipment visible in the room was an Acoustic Imaging 5200 ultrasound scanner, which was first marketed in 1992. There was also a freezer storage-type unit containing a large quantity of vials containing the CR 481516-23 42 solution. When the station was abandoned, this equipment was moved into the secret vault by the Others. ("Maternity Leave")

Oceanic mobile

Nursery

The nursery

Another room in the Staff was used as a nursery, where Claire was kept during her captivity. It was decorated and stocked and was apparently where Aaron would live for an indefinite amount of time. This room also had its contents stored in the secret vault after the Others abandoned the station, although traces of the wall decorations were still visible. ("Maternity Leave")

Among the furniture in the room was a crib that had a mobile with Oceanic airplanes hanging from it. The plane mobile played the song "Catch a Falling Star", which Claire requested be sung to the baby after his adoption. The crib in the nursery was the same crib seen by Claire in a dream where she searched for her baby. ("Raised by Another") Also in the nursery was a picture of a boat on the wall resembling the boat used in the Others' abduction of Walt. ("Maternity Leave") ("Exodus, Part 2")

Locker room

One of the rooms in the Staff contained lockers: at least two rows of double-tiered lockers, and one row of single-tiered lockers, all of which all had the Staff Logo stamped on their exteriors. ("Maternity Leave")

Juliet used a tape recorder hidden in the locker room to communicate with Ben during her time living with the survivors. Also, a secret vault could be accessed from the locker room. ("D.O.C.")

Juliet performs an ultrasound on Sun

Vault

Behind one of the walls of the locker room was a secret, vault-like chamber. The chamber had a door approximately one foot thick and secured by a series of solid-metal cylinders, each several inches in diameter. The chamber was accessed by throwing a large switch hidden inside one of the lockers located in front of the door. The vault had electric lighting and a sink providing running water. ("D.O.C.")

When Juliet led Sun into the vault, it contained all of the medical equipment and nursery furniture seen during Claire's time at the Staff. Sun questioned why the chamber was hidden, but Juliet told her not to worry about it. After Sun pressured Juliet, she admitted the room was where the Other's women were brought to die. ("D.O.C.")

Accompanied Claire on her journey to find where she was taken by Ethan, where she found the theatrical glue and fake beard which was vital in planting doubt to whether the Others were really hillbillies.

Trivia

General

Hermes with the Caduceus staff.

Canteen Staff logo

The station logo incorporated the "Caduceus" - the alchemical symbol in western tradition for medicine. According to Greek Mythology, the Caduceus staff originally belonged to Apollo who eventually traded it to Hermes.

The Staff's inverted logo was seen several times on canteens.

The Staff was the only DHARMA station never to have its name spoken on-screen.